Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals received an upgrade from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a more cautious outlook by analysts.
• Price targets for the company have varied among analysts, with Raymond James lowering it to $50.00 and Bank of America increasing it to $24.00, reflecting differing perspectives on the company's future performance.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed a quarterly revenue decline of 10.6% year-over-year, with an EPS of ($0.33), slightly exceeding analysts' expectations.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.78.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.7%

APLS opened at $22.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.61 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.84. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $41.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a current ratio of 4.08.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 108.68% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,516,671.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. The trade was a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,076,000 after acquiring an additional 184,292 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,287 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 455.4% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 164,275 shares of the company's stock worth $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 134,698 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 24,350 shares of the company's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 7,783 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.